Flanker Dan Lydiate joins Welsh exodus as French money talks

Lydiate has played for the Dragons since 2006, overcoming a serious neck injury in 2007 which threatened his career.

He won the Six Nations player of the series this year and although he is currently out injured, he is expected to be picked for the Lions tour next summer.

"We are obviously very disappointed that Danny has decided to leave the Dragons," said Dragons Director of rugby Rob Beale.

"He has been a key part of our set up for several years and is popular with both the players and the coaches.

Unable to compete

"I can assure our supporters that we did all that we could to retain Dan's services but we simply cannot compete with the offers which have been put on the table."

Lydiate will almost certainly be heading for the Top 14, and the news of his departure comes just a couple of weeks after Jamie Roberts confirmed he will be moving to France next summer, with Racing Metro his most likely destination.

Mike Phillips, James Hook, Luke Charteris and Gethin Jenkins are all plying their trade in France, where the Top 14 clubs can afford to pay huge wages compared to the Welsh clubs.

Lydiate is currently sidelined after suffering a serious ankle injury earlier this season that ruled him out of Wales' entire autumn schedule of Tests against Argentina, Samoa, New Zealand and Australia.